Coach Carter ★★½

(Showtime on Comcast) A by-the-numbers basketball drama that’s also 2½ hours of sermonizing about the state of urban youth. Samuel L. Jackson plays the daunting real-life California high school coach who wouldn’t let his team play unless they got better grades. His lectures on self-worth are important, but the long and cluttered movie is not. (PG-13; runs through Feb. 28)

Wesley Morris

Rush Hour ★★½

(Starz on Comcast) Jackie Chan’s production pairs him with shrill comic Chris Tucker. They’re mismatched cops in LA trying to get the Chinese consul’s daughter back from kidnappers. It’s not a bad action comedy, but it’s nothing to say wow about, and that’s what we’ve come to expect from stunt phenom Chan. (PG-13; runs through Feb. 28)

Do the Right Thing ★★★½

(Showtime on Comcast) Spike Lee’s brilliant, in-your-face film is about a mostly black Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood that goes up in flames on the hottest day of the year. (R; through Feb. 28)